Quote:

Originally Posted by inphluence

Here in Boston it's $95 a wheel, not including removing tires and mounting them back on. I wish I lived in Cali sometimes.

Now that you put it like that, I guess I'm happy to be up here in the northwest! Is anyone going to answers my few questions? I have everything ready minus those small details.

 

Painting the wheels is such a big project make sure you take your time and have a few days and they will come out amazing

 

Here are some pictures of my GG 9 MR. I just painted my rims and they came out looking just as good, if not better than the factory paint. The process was time consuming so be prepared to have a whole day. The most important part of this is the prep work. Be sure to sand the rims. I used 320 grit. Once sanded, use a good degreaser to completely clean the rims. You want to eliminate all traces of oils from the rim surface. If any oils remain, you will get fisheyes when you apply the paint. I then used primer to prime the surface. I used Duplicolor HotRod black primer and applied 4 good coats. I painted the inside of my rims first with Duplicolor Universial Black Metallic using 4 coats. The outside was painted with Duplicolor import Phantom Gray, it only comes in those tiny cans so I had to buy 4 cans. I put 5 coats on the outside, waiting 30 minutes between coats. After the final coat was dry, I applied 2 coats of Duplicolor clear. Let me just say that the rims look phenominal. After about 2 days, I waxed the rims which smoothed out the clear coat and really made the paint job look awesome. These are the MR BBS's and not the regular 9's Enkie's but I thought you might enjoy the pictures anyways.

 

^ Do you think 220 grit would do the job as well?

 

220 may be a bit to harsh. You don't want to rough up the factory paint to much, 220 may put deep scratches in the factory paint. The 320 is perfect, it roughs up the factory paint just enough to give the primer a good surface to "stick".

 

^ OK. I read on a similar thread and I've been told that aircraft stripper will just about remove all the paint nearly to nothing. Next, clean thoroughly with degreaser. Then, just as you mentioned, sanding comes next. But if 320 is the winner, 320 is the winner. Question: Did you wet sand in between coats?

 

Nice Rims!

 

Yes, Aircraft stripper will take the rim down to bare alluminum. I had to do that to the first rim I tried. I did'nt wipe the rim with degreaser and had fisheyes all over the place. It took 7 applications of stripper followed by high pressure blasting at the local car wash but every ounce of paint came off that BBS. If you have the time and money for stripper - go for it. I bought a can of Duplicolor self etching primer for the rim I had to take down. I would recommend the self etching primer over the regular primer if you are going this route. The self etching primer actually etches the metal surface and gives a top notch surface to paint over. I can't really tell the difference in the finished product between the rim I stripped and the others. Maybe the stripped rim will be more durable - I don't know.
No, I did not wet sand in between coats. With as many spokes as the BBS rim has, it would have taken forever.

 

I'm thinking that Simple Green would work well as a degreaser. The Army uses it for everything especially in the motor pool. If it works on tanks, I'm sure it'll work on car wheels! When you say it took seven applications of stripper, is that because you didn't clean the wheels with the degreaser afterwards? So, aircraft stripper with Simple Green... winning combination? Yes/No

 

It took 7 times because I drove the car to the car wash, jacked it up and removed the wheel and stripped the wheel using the high pressure spray. I did'nt have time to let the stripper sit on the wheel and work like it should. Instead, I had to spray it on, let it work for about 5 minutes, then blast it off - 7 times. It took like 14 bucks and about 35 minutes to strip the rim down to bare alluminum front and back. I had to use the car wash because my apartment complex don't have a water hose hookup. If you have your own house or live in a complex where you have a water hose hookup, it should'nt take 7 applications. I was trying to rush so I could get out of the car wash bay. Actually, if I would have just let the stripper sit for 10 - 15 minutes I may have gotton by with fewer applications.
Simple Green will work fine. Also, I forgot to tell you to sand the bare alluminum with the 320 grit before laying down the self etching primer.

 

^ Thanks bro. I "think" I'm ready to do this. I have some leave coming up after my daughter is born in the next few days. Timely and positive responses in a thread are what make EvoM a great community especially for us DIY rookies like myself! I'll keep you posted how the wheels turn out on my '03 VIII. I'm looking to have EVERYTHING on the exterior as "stealth-looking" as I can.

 

i just got some of the stuff i need. im almost ready....
im gonna be doing mine starting tommorow.

 

Would anyone object to using engine paint because of its high temperature rating?

 

That's the stuff I use, it ROCKS!

 

pics^^